The second-ranked Campbellsville University women’s wrestling team claimed the inaugural Mid-South Conference (MSC) title on December 2nd, 2017, in the first year women’s wrestling was sponsored by the MSC. The Lady Tigers racked up 192 points behind the efforts of nine wrestlers earning All-Conference honors. Leading the way for Campbellsville was individual champions Charlotte Fowler (109-pounds), Koral Sugiyama (136-pounds), Alexia Foca (143-pounds), and Kate Hill (191-pounds). Fowler reached the finals after consecutive technical falls where she met up with teammate Katlyn Pizzo who injury defaulted. Sugiyama went 2-0 on the day on her way to earning a conference title. After winning by fall in the semifinals she met up with Bridgette Duty from Cumberlands whom she defeated on criteria in a wild 15-15 match. Foca earned First Team All-Conference honors after winning three straight matches to claim the weight class. She defeated Zoe Wright from Life University in the finals 10-7. Kate Hill claimed the 191-pound title for the Lady Tigers after narrowly edging Life University’s Stephanie Pantoja in a one-point match.

11th-ranked Life University finished runner-up with 127 points with five wrestlers earning All-Conference honors including champions Jennifer Juarez (116-pounds) and Jordan Nelson (170-pounds). Jaurez was extremely dominant on the day as she outscored her three opponents 32-0 including a technical fall victory in the finals over the top-ranked wrestler at 109-pounds Makayla Campbell. Nelson went 2-0 on the day to earn the 170-pound title over Sandra Garcia from Lindenwood-Belleville.

Finishing just six points behind Life University was fourth-ranked University of the Cumberlands who tallied 121 points. Cumberlands had three individual champions when Maia Phanthadara (101-pounds), Kelly-Ann Jimenez (123-pounds), and Ismileyna Valles (130-pounds) each won their respective weights. Phanthadara, the sixth-ranked wrestler in the country at 101-pounds did not yield a single point on the day on her way to a conference title. Jimenez looked dominant on her way to the finals with a 52-second fall and a technical fall. She then defeated Campbellsville’s Steffanie Hampton in the title match by a score of 10-4. Valles earned one of the biggest upsets of the tournament when she edged out second-ranked Shelby Hall of Campbellsville in the finals to win the 130-pound weight class. Hall had been nearly unstoppable before Valles was able to slow her down and earn a 4-3 decision.

Lindenwood-Belleville University and Brewton-Parker College rounded out the five-team field with 54.5 and 26.5 points respectively. Lindenwood-Belleville featured one individual champion, Niauni Hill (155-pounds), who was also crowned the “Wrestler of the Tournament” after outscoring her opponents 26-1 on the day.

In addition to winning the team title, Campbellsville also took home some extra individual hardware. Makayla Campbell was named the MSC Freshman of the Year, Kayla Miracle was voted as the MSC Wrestler of the Year, and head coach Lee Miracle was voted as the MSC Coach of the Year.

Mid-South Conference First Team

101 – Maia Phanthadara, University of the Cumberlands

109 – Charlotte Fowler, Campbellsville University

116 – Jennifer Jaurez, Life University

123 – Kelly-Ann Jimenez, University of the Cumberlands

130 – Ismileyna Valles, University of the Cumberlands

136 – Koral Sugiyama, Campbellsville University

143 – Alexia Foca, Campbellsville University

155 – Niauni Hill, Lindenwood-Belleville University

170 – Jordan Nelson, Life University

191 – Kate Hill, Campbellsville University

Mid-South Conference Second Team

101 – Alyssa Martinez, Life University

109 – Katlyn Pizzo, Campbellsville University

116 – Makayla Campbell, Campbellsville University

123 – Steffanie Hampton, Campbellsville University

130 – Shelby Hall, Campbellsville University

136 – Bridgette Duty, University of the Cumberlands

143 – Zoe Wright, Life University

155 – Morgan Becker, Campbellsville University

170 – Sandra Garcia, Lindenwood-Belleville University

191 – Raquel Valderrama, Life University

Match to Watch this Week

#8 Emmanuel College (8-2) vs. #11 Life University (3-3)

The eighth-ranked Emmanuel College Lions will host the 11th-ranked Life University Running Eagles in a battle of in-state rivals on December 5th, 2017. Emmanuel College is coming off an impressive performance at the Wayland Women’s Invitational that saw them put seven wrestlers in the finals and come away with three individual champions in Cody Pfau (109-pounds), Abigail Nette (130-pounds), and Kayla Marano (143-pounds). Life University is also coming off a solid showing of their own after finishing as runner-up at the inaugural Mid-South Conference Championships, ahead of fourth-ranked University of the Cumberlands. The Running Eagles crowned two champions in Jennifer Juarez (116-pounds) and Jordan Nelson (170-pounds). Emmanuel enters the dual with a record of 8-2 on the season while Life University has a record of 3-3.